Background: The Participation and Sensory Environment Questionnaire (P-SEQ): Community Scales is a parent report questionnaire designed to examine the impact of the sensory environment on participation within community activities for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Methods: This study used a cross sectional quantitative design to establish the reliability and discriminate validity of the P-SEQ: Community Scales.
Results: This study established the initial reliability of the questionnaire including internal consistency of 0.98 test-retest reliability of 0.76. The P-SEQ: Community Scales demonstrated significant differences in item distribution for children without ASD as compared to those with ASD, an essential aspect of construct validity.
Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that the questionnaire is a reliable tool that can be used to assess the impact of sensory environment's impact on participation in community activities. Identified barriers can be modified to support participation in community tasks.
Keywords: autism spectrum disorder; community; environment; participation.